Thrilling heists and robberies are no stranger to the world of entertainment. If they were, we wouldn’t have the “Ocean’s Eleven” film, remake, and eventual franchise. They make for gripping narratives and often a desire to root for the antihero or villain. At least, we can do that in the realm of fiction, in real life these things rarely happen. In the case of the Disney Springs Paddlefish restaurant, fiction became a bit too true to life, and they’re not rooting for the villain this time around either.
The Paddlefish is a unique restaurant in that it’s designed to be a replica of a large steamboat, situated on the water. It makes for a good seafood restaurant with a motif to match and one heck of a nice view. Earlier this week, it also made for a tempting enough target to rob that someone decided to not only commit the caper, but to do it via a watery entrance and exit, complete with scuba gear.
After the restaurant closed on Monday, a man in a wetsuit and with scuba gear on approached the boat/building via water, boarded it, and tied up two of the employees. Reports indicate that the man was not armed and did not physically harm the employees. He instructed them to close their eyes and after tying them up, made his way to the manager’s office. Once there, he took what’s estimated to be between $10,000 to $20,000 and left the same way he entered, via the water.
The diver stopped to take on and off the cumbersome scuba apparatus as well as spray paint the security cameras. With him being in a full wetsuit, the cameras apparently did not capture his face. Currently the suspect has not been identified or caught, and police are actively pursuing an investigation. It’s interest though, one would think that if someone could afford a wetsuit and scuba gear, they probably wouldn’t need to knock over a restaurant. And if they were just renting the gear, well, there’s a lead for the police to follow-up on.
Currently the restaurant is still open and actively serving guests. No word on whether the prices are a steal though.
